The Construction of a Research Problem on a Human Rights Issue

Abstract

The article describes and analyzes the theoretical-methodological potential of the human rights approach and the documents of the human rights system as resources for an academic research strategy in the field of social sciences. Taking two examples of this assembly —norms and reports on equality and non-discrimination, and the thematic reports of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights— it is explained how these materials contain conceptualizations and tools useful for social research, in such a way that their development can be respond both to questions from the academic field and to strengthen compliance with state obligations contracted at the international level. The expected result of this work is to make visible specific forms of incidence and transfer from the transdisciplinary field of human rights research to social, organizational and institutional-state practices, while the findings related to advances, setbacks or challenges observed during an investigation can constitute an input for decision-making and public policies.